Harrogate Homecare Limited was rated Good across all five key questions at its June 2015 inspection, demonstrating safe, person-centred care delivered by a well-trained and consistent staff team under engaged leadership. One recommendation was made regarding the medicine consent form, which did not comply with best practice guidance on safe administration of medicines.
Concerns (1)
minor
Medication management
: “we identified this does not comply with the basic principles of the safe administration of medicines and we have asked the manager to review the use of this form.”
Strengths
· People consistently reported being treated with dignity and respect, and spoke highly of care workers' kindness, patience and compassion.
· Safe recruitment practices were followed, including DBS checks, satisfactory references and a signed suitability statement before employment.
· Effective communication systems kept all staff and managers informed about people's changing care needs in a timely way.
· Staff undertook joint simulation-based training with other health and social care professionals, including palliative care and crisis management.
· Individual staff held lead roles in dementia care, palliative care, health and safety and quality assurance to drive continuous improvement.
Harrogate Homecare Limited was rated Good overall at its February 2020 inspection, with people consistently praising the caring, respectful and professional staff. Key areas for improvement included strengthening medication management processes, formalising staff competency assessments, and developing more detailed care plans and governance auditing.
Concerns (6)
moderateMedication management: “MARs were written by staff and did not include all the required information. The medicine policy did not include all the required information.”
moderateStaff competency: “Staff received medicine training and were observed administering medicines before they carried out the task unsupervised. However, their competency was not formally assessed.”
moderateCare planning: “Care plans were generally basic and although reviews were carried out, updates were not always recorded on the actual care plan.”
moderateRecord keeping: “One person's care and medication records had not been audited since April 2019.”
moderateGovernance: “Some issues identified during the inspection had not been picked up through the provider's monitoring processes.”
minorIncident learning: “They did not always note any lessons learned so said they would make sure this was included in future.”
Strengths
· People were very complimentary about staff, with comments including 'Excellent. An incredibly, caring company' and 'very kind, very respectful, and so helpful'.
· Stable workforce with good continuity of care; people received support from the same group of staff.
· Staff understood safeguarding responsibilities and were confident management would act on concerns promptly.
· New staff received appropriate induction including four weeks of shadowing and completion of the care certificate.
· People were involved in planning their care package and felt their preferences were respected.
Quality-Statement breakdown (19)
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and management; Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
effective: Assessing people's needs and choices; delivering care in line with standards, guidance and the lawGood
effective: Staff support: induction, training, skills and experienceGood
effective: Supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet
Harrogate Homecare Limited was rated Good across all five key questions at its June 2017 inspection, maintaining its previous Good rating. The service demonstrated strong person-centred care, reliable staffing, robust governance, and consistently positive feedback from people using the service and their relatives.
Strengths
· People and relatives reported overwhelmingly positive feedback, describing staff as kind, compassionate, reliable and trustworthy.
· Safe recruitment practices in place including DBS checks, references, and application forms to identify gaps.
· Staff completed Care Certificate, structured induction, and regular refresher training including safeguarding and medicines handling.
· Medicines administration records completed appropriately and reviewed regularly by managers.
· Risk assessments in place covering mobilising, nutrition, hydration, and other individual needs.
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Good
effective: Staff working with other agencies to provide consistent, effective, timely care; Supporting people to live healthier livesGood
effective: Ensuring consent to care and treatment in line with law and guidanceGood
caring: Ensuring people are well treated and supported; respecting equality and diversityGood
caring: Supporting people to express their views and be involved in making decisions about their care; Respecting and promoting people's privacy, dignity and independenceGood
responsive: Planning personalised care to ensure people have choice and control and to meet their needs and preferences; End of life care and supportGood
responsive: Meeting people's communication needsGood
responsive: Supporting people to develop and maintain relationships to avoid social isolation; support to follow interests and activitiesGood
responsive: Improving care quality in response to complaints or concernsGood
well-led: Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empoweringGood
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, and understanding quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsGood
well-led: Continuous learning and improving care; Working in partnership with othersGood